Index Page

Oaxaca

November 06

If youll be a first-time visitor to Oacaca and expect to see the city/area made famous by travel brochures and travel guides - you do not want to visit now.....avoid Oaxaca like the plague for the next few months until the violence/disruptions subside... (more) byBill Masterson

Stan Gottlieb's article about the violence in Oaxaca "Well, at least no tourists have been attacked" was a bit off center. He could have better described things as being, "A bit uncomfortable for tourism, but because no tourists have been attacked it serves to show that once the dispute has been resolved, things should quickly return to normal in the city of Oaxaca".... (more) by David "El Codo" Eidell

Today (November 3, 06), there are few tourists in the city of Oaxaca. They have been scared away by the massive propaganda put out by the main-stream press: anxiety, disaster, and fear sell newspapers and encourage viewers to buy mouthwash.

The actual story is somewhat different. Yes, there are federal troops, pro-government hit squads, and confrontations at various points around the city. Yes, the buses have stopped running, temporarily. Yes, people are getting killed, injured, arrested, disappeared and tortured. But no tourists have been involved... (more) by Stan Gotlieb, editor Oaxaca Essays & Online Newsletter

One early Spring when I showed up to announce the coming of the Red Truck I found a man busy threshing wheat out by Juana's house. Apparently wheat does well in white, clayey soil, for it is the main crop of the region. Here the tortillas aren't corn, they are wheat. The man was threshing in a large circle, ten feet in diameter with a worn stone floor and a curb of stones around the perimeter. In the middle was a wooden post to which were roped, side by side, four donkeys and a mule. Behind them, chasing the four donkeys and mule round and round the post, and thereby causing them to stomp or thresh the piles of wheat below, was a man in a white straw hat. I recognized him as Juana's husband.... (more) by Eric Mindling

We are interested in visiting Oaxaca this fall. We are interested in purchasing Oaxaca black clay pottery and woven textiles. We have a retail shop and want to introduce Mexican art. Can you give me information on which factories or artisans are the ones we should visit and who to deal with? Is Oaxaca the best place for us to purchase these items, or are there towns outside of Oaxaca to consider- if so which ones.... (more)

I've had a travel bug in me since I could crawl, and a trip to Mexico at age 14 with my step pa (20 hour bus ride from TJ to Cabo SL through the night, hit a donkey in the wee hours, extra driver looked like Yogi bear and slept in the baggage compartment, first time ever smelling a tortilleria in Loredo under palm trees, nasty diarreah, beach, Jumex, smell of fresh cement, cactus...It was heavan) coupled with the holy old cover version of Pep's Guide put Mexico big on my mental map.... (more) by Eric Mindling

Most guidebooks on Mexico devote 10, maybe 20 pages to Oaxaca.... Ive always been left hungry for more.... Well, my hunger has finally been satisfied. In the Oaxaca Handbook. Bruce Whipperman offers a complete menu of not just the valley of Oaxaca, but the entire state.Whipperman has a special interest in outdoor activities and ecological tourism. He emphasizes hiking in Oaxacas national parks and other natural attractions. He enthusiastically writes of people working to improve the ecology of the places where they live....by P.G. Meier

Many people travel to Oaxaca, often repeatedly, without really understanding why, as if commanded to do so by some force they cannot see. At the beginning of the year I made my fifth trip to the city of Oaxaca and I am asking myself, "Why?" I have given the question some thought and have come to the conclusion that I really do not enjoy this city anymore. by Bill Masterson

This summers trip was my first to Mexico, but definitely not my last. We just spent seven weeks in the State of Oaxaca in Mexico and thought we would write you about some things. We studied Spanish at a wonderful school in the Oaxaca City called Becari. Its on M. Bravo near Garcia Vigil.... Hierve El Agua (boiling water) is an incredible town in the Mixe region. To get there.... I would like to add that a marvelous vegetarian restaurant opened up while we were down in Oaxaca. Its called the Manantial Vegetariano. by Suzanne Strauss & Scott K. Kennedy

Dan's cup of coffee is still the best in town, if not the state, and the mango croissants are still to die for. With the addition of a dinner restaurant next door, where we had a magnificent dorado platter for 29 pesos, Dan now has an all-day eatery. We did duck into town for one of Herman's fish platters, but at 25 pesos it probably doesn't represent a better deal than Dan's.... by Stan Gottlieb

I just read your letter to Jim Jamieson. I just spent 4 months along the coast near PE and had to fly to Oaxaca City several times. The flights are run by AeroCaribe and AeroVega(less expensive but smaller plane). Costs one-way are $70 to 95 (US). They fly new turboprops. The quality of the flights was excellent.... (more) by Ray Mueller

We are looking seriously at coming to Mexico for a month next July. Would you have any suggestions re places to take Nancy and Hannah? We will probably spend between one and two of the four weeks in San Miguel. Keep in mind that Nancy has never been to Mexico, but has travelled a lot and Hannah will be 10 and a half. from Jim Jamieson